Over two dozen Republican lawmakers are asking President Trump to direct Attorney General William Barr (R) to appoint a special counsel to investigate election irregularities, formally making the request in a December 9 letter.
Rep. Lance Gooden (R-TX) is leading the effort, writing a letter to President Trump and requesting that he “direct Attorney General Barr to appoint a Special Counsel to investigate irregularities in the 2020 election.”
Gooden cited “widespread” support from House GOP colleagues and noted that “legitimate questions of voter fraud remain unanswered.”
“The Department of Justice has been asked on multiple occasions to launch an investigation into this matter, but inaction from the Department along with public comments made by the Attorney General indicate a lack of willingness to investigate the irregularities your campaign and other elected officials across the nation have alleged,” Gooden wrote, adding that an appointment of a special counsel would “establish a team of investigators whose sole responsibility is to uncover the truth and provide the certainty America needs.”
“We urge you to take swift and decisive action and direct Attorney General Barr to appoint a Special Counsel to restore the American people’s faith in our elections,” Gooden concluded, signing the letter alongside over two dozen GOP lawmakers. Signees include Reps. Paul Gosar (R-AZ), Louie Gohmert (R-TX), Jody Hice (R-GA), John Rutherford (R-FL), Mo Brooks (R-AL), Steve King (R-IA), and others.
Gooden sent a similar letter last week, just days after the AP reported that Barr said the department had not uncovered evidence of widespread fraud great enough to alter the purported outcome of the election.
“To date, we have not seen fraud on a scale that could have affected a different outcome in the election,” Barr said, according to the outlet.
“There’s been one assertion that would be systemic fraud and that would be the claim that machines were programmed essentially to skew the election results,” Barr continued, adding that “the DHS and DOJ have looked into that, and so far, we haven’t seen anything to substantiate that.”
The Trump campaign has vowed to continue to fight for election integrity, alleging instances of widespread fraud, error, and irregularities.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected an election integrity challenge lodged by Rep. Mike Kelly (R-PA). However, earlier this week, Texas sued Georgia, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania at the Supreme Court over their election procedures.
President Trump identified the case as “the big one.”
“We will be INTERVENING in the Texas (plus many other states) case. This is the big one. Our Country needs a victory!” Trump exclaimed on Wednesday:
We will be INTERVENING in the Texas (plus many other states) case. This is the big one. Our Country needs a victory!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 9, 2020
Other states, such as Alabama and Louisiana, have signaled that they could join the fight.
